When De'Aaron Fox made a three-pointer to put the Sacramento Kings up by 22 points with 8:22 left in the fourth quarter of their Tuesday night contest against the Phoenix Suns, they had a 99.7 percent chance of winning the ballgame. With eight minutes to go, it would have taken a colossal collapse from the Kings and a heater from the Suns to even make it a competitive game.

But that's exactly what happened. After the Suns decided to put Kevin Durant at center, going small and stretching the Kings' defense out, they simply could not miss. They went 11-14 from the field from 8:22 onward, making six of their seven three point attempts during that span, all the while holding the Kings to a frigid 3-13 shooting from the field and forcing five turnovers over that stretch. As a result, the Suns were able to mount a furious comeback from 22 points down, taking an improbable 119-117 win over the Kings at home.

Just to put the Kings' ignominy in even greater perspective, Tim Reynolds of AP pointed out that Sacramento's 22-point collapse is the biggest fourth quarter meltdown in the NBA since the bubble. Per Reynolds, teams that have led by 22 points or more in the final period have gone undefeated since August 23, 2020 in 1,244 instances, which is equivalent to more than a season's worth of games.

The good news is that the Kings' meltdown is not an indication of poor performance in the future from the team. After all, the last team that suffered a loss after leading by 22 points in the fourth quarter, the 2020 Miami Heat, went all the way to the NBA Finals.

It was on August 12, 2020 when the Heat, despite limiting their starters' minutes in preparation for the playoffs, took a 104-82 lead against the Oklahoma City Thunder with 10:21 left in the fourth quarter. The Thunder then proceeded to mount a furious rally that culminated in a Mike Muscala three-ball with five seconds to go in the game to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, 116-115.

It may take a few seasons yet again before fans get to witness another meltdown akin to the one the Kings had against the Suns, given how everything must go wrong and right for opposing teams for occurrences like these to take place.